“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Mt 6:9-10).
With such economy of words, our Lord gives an inspired checklist of elements to include in our petitions. Immediately He states that we are to address “our Father” from whom comes “every good gift and every perfect [act of giving]” (Jas 1:17), but then adds that He is also “the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isa 57:15), lest we become presumptuous or disrespectful. Following this, the Lord gives a vital key to knowing our prayers will be answered: “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” — our requests must align with the Big Plan. This present age is not the measure of things, but the coming kingdom.
And, adds the Lord, it is possible for the believer’s life on earth to be an outpost of heaven and a precursor to the day when He will be King, when everyone will do His will, delighted to see true Days of Heaven on Earth. Let’s start today!